Mr Muzzammil Nusrath, Consultant Maxillofacial Surgeon at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals, and his team at Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals, run the Living Beyond Mouth Cancer group, a support network where patients can discuss their journeys, from diagnosis to treatment and future support.
In the group, patients who are being diagnosed are matched with someone who has undergone the same treatment. This enables individuals to have a discussion and receive peer-to-peer counselling to help them understand the treatments they may undergo, as well as address some of the fears and concerns they may have.
Aiming to support people across South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw, the group meets in a community setting and also works towards raising awareness of the causes and symptoms of mouth cancer. In turn, members hope to increase general awareness, prevention and help make sure cases are diagnosed early when treatments are more effective.
The group is currently fundraising to purchase a VizLite device, which is a unique type of light technology that helps identify soft tissue abnormalities that could be a sign of early mouth cancer. The equipment costs around £5,000 but would mean that early cancers can be picked up and diagnosed in a community setting.
The Sacred Life Charitable Trust, which donates to causes across the globe, has made the first donation to the VizLite fund. Chairman of the charity, Nasir Ahmed presented a cheque for £500 to Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals and many others have since pledged their support.
One of the leading causes of mouth cancer in the UK is tobacco. Smoking cessation groups have also been formed, offering members of the group one to one sessions with patients who have previously stopped smoking successfully. HPV associated cancers in the head and neck are on the rise, especially young males.
Talking about the success of the group, Mr Muzzammil Nusrath said: “Patients find it incredibly reassuring to speak with others who have been through similar experiences and the support group helps them to conquer some of their fears and concerns about treatments and also living beyond mouth cancer. This is important as the effects of surgery on other parts of the body can be hidden in day to day life but not so in the case of cancer of the mouth and face. We have to reconstruct the defects to improve healing, aesthetics, speech and the ability to chew/eat and swallow. It’s helpful for us as medical staff to hear feedback from the patients and understand in greater depth how we can help them further.”
Through the group, patients also have access to a wealth of information on how they can manage their symptoms such as pain treatment strategies, treatment for dry mouth and speech & language therapies.
If you would like to join the Living Beyond Mouth Cancer group or if you want more information, then go to their Facebook page, just search ‘Living Beyond Mouth Cancer’. If you would like to volunteer at the group, please email muzzammil.nusrath@nhs.net.